STERNFELD, Joel - First Pictures

Background information

"'First Pictures' is the first book of Joel STERNFELD's largely unseen early colour photographs. Joel STERNFELD began in 1969 working with a 35mm camera and Kodachrome film; the book 'First Pictures' contains works from this time until 1980. Here Joel STERNFELD develops traits that appear in his mature work: irony, a politicised view of America, concern for the social condition. But there are also pictures that bear little relation to his later work: colour arrangements that parallel those of William EGGLESTON, as well as street photography which Joel STERNFELD ceased making in 1976.

Content

The photographs in 'First Pictures' by Joel STERNFELD were made at a time when colour photography was struggling to assert itself against the authoritative black and white tradition, making this book a revelation both in STERNFELD’s oeuvre and in the history of contemporary photography." (publisher's note, © Steidl, 2011)

About the American photographer, Joel STERNFELD (b. 1944)

Photo books by Joel STERNFELD